15 Cross River has handed over its best-known tourism asset for the second time in nine years, and the fine print matters more than the photo call. A 25-year concession only works if someone enforces it, and the state’s last partner walked away in 2025 with the resort’s hotel still unrenovated. Living Curation Real Estate Limited now controls Obudu Ranch Resort, Utanga Safari Lodge and the Bebi Airstrip until roughly 2051, unless Cross River builds tighter guardrails than it did the first time around. The Deal, Signed in Calabar According to a report by NairaMetrics, Cross River State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Ededem Ani signed the 25-year concession with Living Curation Real Estate Limited in Calabar on Friday, the News Agency of Nigeria reported. The agreement covers the rehabilitation of Obudu Ranch Resort, Utanga Safari Lodge and the Bebi Airstrip, and the facilities revert to the state at the end of the term. Ani called the signing “a major milestone” in Governor Bassey Otu’s tourism agenda and said it reflects the administration’s push to draw private capital into strategic assets. The state expects the redevelopment to generate jobs during both construction and operation, and it has flagged women in host communities as a specific target for the economic benefits, according to the NairaMetrics report. Living Curation, for its part, says it intends to deliver a destination built around hospitality, scientific eco-tourism and conservation, language that will mean little until construction milestones start landing on schedule. Why the State Tried This Once Before This is not Cross River’s first attempt at fixing Obudu through a private partner. A Channels report of 2025 has it that in 2017, under then-Governor Ben Ayade, the state signed a 25-year concession with CIBA Construction Company Limited to design, finance, build and operate the resort. Eight years later, in March 2025, Governor Otu revoked that agreement, citing CIBA’s failure to meet obligations under Sections 5.0, 6.0 and 14.0(b) of the contract, chiefly the renovation of the resort’s hotel and other core infrastructure, according to the 2025 Channels report. The state moved swiftly to take back control, appointing Sunday Michael as special adviser and CEO of Obudu Ranch Resort to steady the site while it searched for a replacement. The resort itself carries weight beyond one failed contract. A Scottish rancher named M. McCaughley established what was then Obudu Cattle Ranch in 1951, and the site stayed a modest highland outpost for decades. Governor Donald Duke’s administration, from 1999 to 2007, turned it into a genuine national attraction, building the cable car system, roads and chalets that put Obudu on Nigeria’s tourism map. What followed was a slow decline: underinvestment and neglect under later administrations eroded both the infrastructure and the visitor numbers Duke had built. ALSO READ: The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela: How to Visit Ethiopia’s Most Sacred Site Ancient Axum and the Obelisks of Ethiopia: A Traveller’s Guide to the Kingdom of Aksum Kilimanjaro Routes Ranked 2026: Which Path to Choose Based on Your Fitness, Budget, and Time The RCA Angle: A Test Case for Nigerian Tourism PPPs For travellers and industry watchers, the real story is not the Obudu concession alone. It is whether Nigerian states can make public-private tourism partnerships stick. Cross River’s second attempt sits inside a broader push by state governments to lean on private capital rather than budget lines to fix ageing tourism assets at a time when Nigeria’s federal purse has little room for large infrastructure spending. If Living Curation delivers where CIBA didn’t, expect other states holding underused tourism sites, colonial-era resorts, disused airstrips, and heritage lodges to copy the model. If it doesn’t, Cross River will have spent nine years and two concessions proving that the structure, not the operator, is the problem. For destinations competing with Cross River for the same domestic and diaspora travellers, the calculation is simpler: Obudu remains dormant as a serious option until physical work, not press statements, resumes on the ground. Anyone building a Nigerian highland or eco-tourism itinerary around Obudu should treat 2026–2028 as a watching period, not a booking window. Cross River will only prove that private concessions can rescue Nigerian tourism infrastructure if it ties Living Curation’s timeline to enforceable, publicly disclosed milestones, because a signature in Calabar guarantees nothing on its own; the CIBA experience already showed that. What to Watch Next The concession runs for 25 years, but the next 24 months will tell Cross River whether it learned anything from CIBA. The state has not yet published a construction timeline or investment figure for Living Curation’s plan, the single detail that will separate this from the last failed attempt. Cross River’s tourism office and Living Curation both owe the public that number, and RCA will be watching for it. The Wider Pattern: Nigeria’s Recurring Tourism Concession Problem Obudu is not an isolated case of a Nigerian government reaching for a private partner and then reversing course. State-owned tourism assets across the country, heritage sites, resorts, and cultural centres have repeatedly gone through the same cycle: a concession signed with fanfare, years of underdelivery, and eventual termination or quiet abandonment before officials try again with a new company. Nigeria’s federal and state tourism authorities have leaned harder on public-private partnerships since 2020 partly because tourism gets a thin slice of public budgets nationally, leaving states with valuable but decaying assets and few options besides finding a developer willing to gamble on them. Cross River’s experience- two concessions, one revocation, and eight lost years of Obudu’s redevelopment illustrates why that model keeps failing: contracts get signed with vague obligations and little independent monitoring, and by the time a breach is obvious, years of neglect have already compounded. Impact on Africa’s and Nigeria’s Tourism Sector Nigeria’s travel and tourism sector was projected to contribute roughly ₦11.2 trillion (about $7.5 billion) to GDP in 2025, up from ₦10.9 trillion in 2024, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. That growth still leaves tourism contributing under 3% of Nigeria’s total GDP, well behind peer economies and behind the sector’s own pre-pandemic share. Assets like Obudu matter to that shortfall because Nigeria’s tourism pitch to international and diaspora travellers rests on a narrow set of recognisable destinations — Lagos’s beaches and nightlife, Calabar’s carnival, and highland resorts like Obudu among them. Every year Obudu spends half-renovated is a year Cross River cannot compete for the same travellers Rwanda, Kenya or Ghana are actively courting with functioning ecotourism products. A working Obudu also matters at the continental level. Africa’s tourism recovery has increasingly rewarded destinations that pair natural assets with reliable infrastructure and consistent management, the exact test Cross River has now failed once. If Living Curation succeeds where CIBA didn’t, Obudu could re-enter conversations about Nigerian eco-tourism and highland travel that have largely excluded the country in recent years. If it doesn’t, Cross River hands competing African destinations one more reason for travellers and investors to look elsewhere first. RCA’s coverage of Africa’s tourism infrastructure gaps tracks exactly this pattern: ambitious concessions, thin enforcement, and the destinations still waiting for the machinery to catch up with the announcements. If Obudu’s story interests you, follow RCA’s coverage on how it develops, because the next 24 months will decide whether Cross River finally gets this right. FAQs What is the new Obudu Ranch concession about? Cross River State signed a 25-year agreement with Living Curation Real Estate Limited to rehabilitate Obudu Ranch Resort, Utanga Safari Lodge and the Bebi Airstrip, with the assets reverting to the state once the term ends. Why did Cross River cancel the previous concession? The state revoked its 2017 agreement with CIBA Construction Company Limited in March 2025 after CIBA failed to renovate the resort’s hotel and other core infrastructure required under the contract. When was Obudu Ranch Resort established, and who built it up? A Scottish rancher named M. McCaughley founded the ranch in 1951. Governor Donald Duke’s administration transformed it into a major attraction between 1999 and 2007, adding the cable car system, roads and chalets. Is Obudu Ranch open to visitors right now? The resort remains open in a limited capacity, but major redevelopment work has not yet started under the new concession, so travellers should treat it as a destination to watch rather than book immediately. How does this concession affect Nigeria’s wider tourism sector? Nigeria’s tourism sector still contributes under 3% of national GDP despite a projected ₦11.2 trillion contribution in 2025, and flagship sites like Obudu matter directly to closing that gap. Cross River tourismNigeria TravelObudu Ranchtourism investment 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTelegramEmail Oluwafemi Kehinde Oluwafemi Kehinde is a business and technology correspondent and an integrated marketing communications enthusiast with close to a decade of experience in content and copywriting. He currently works as an SEO specialist and a content writer at Rex Clarke Adventures. Throughout his career, he has dabbled in various spheres, including stock market reportage and SaaS writing. He also works as a social media manager for several companies. He holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication and majored in public relations.